Portabella Mushrooms

About

Portabella or Portobello Mushrooms are simply adult Crimini or Brown Mushrooms that have grown to a size of between 4 to 6 inches in diameter. They are among the tastiest mushrooms, having a flavor and texture similar to that of meat.

Portabella Mushrooms are great for grilling, sauteing and roasting. The longer they are cooked, the firmer and more meaty they become. They can be used as a substitute for meat in some recipes. Portabella Mushrooms are sold fresh with their stems attached, or sliced and packaged with the stems removed.

Physical Description

The pileus or cap of the original wild species is a pale grey-brown in color, with broad, flat scales on a paler background and fading toward the margins. It is first hemispherical in shape before flattening out with maturity, and 5-10 cm (2-4 in) in diameter. The narrow, crowded gills are free and initially pink, then red-brown and finally a dark brown with a whitish edge from the cheilocystidia. The cylindrical stipe is up to 6 cm (2⅓ in) tall by 1-2 cm wide and bears a thick and narrow ring, which may be streaked on the upperside. The firm flesh is white though stains a pale pinkish-red on bruising.

Colors: browns

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Meaty

Mouthfeel: Meaty, Earthy

Selecting and Buying

Choosing: Select firm clean mushrooms that have limited bruising.

Buying: Select plump firm and solid mushrooms. Avoid the limp or dried looking ones. They should not be shriveled or slippery (which indicates decomposition). The mushroom should have a nice earthy smell.

Procuring: Originally, cultivation was unreliable as mushroom growers would watch for good flushes of mushrooms in fields before digging up the mycelium and replanting in beds of composted manure or inoculating 'bricks' of compressed litter, loam and manure. Spawn collected this way contained pathogens and crops would be commonly infected or not grow at all

Preparation and Use

Remove the mushrooms from any wrapping and spread on a tray and cover with paper toweling. Don't moisten the toweling or the mushrooms and place them in the refrigerator in an area that allows the air to circulate. Avoid placing any other items on top of them. The mushrooms should keep about 5 - 6 days.

Cooked Portabellas can be frozen and will keep for several months. Place in freezer containers or bags, excluding as much air as possible. (Uncooked mushrooms don't freeze well.)

Cleaning: Clean gently with a damp cloth.

Conserving and Storing

Remove the mushrooms from any wrapping and spread on a tray and cover with paper toweling. Don't moisten the toweling or the mushrooms and place them in the refrigerator in an area that allows the air to circulate. Avoid placing any other items on top of them. The mushrooms should keep about 5 - 6 days.

Can be stored in a paper bag.

Cooked Portabellas can be frozen and will keep for several months. Place in freezer containers or bags, excluding as much air as possible. (Uncooked mushrooms don't freeze well.)

Social/Political

History: A brown crimini mushroom is a juvenile portobello. There as many theories on the heritage of the name as there were for why is a Flatiron steak called a Flatiron steak! We referred to Elizabeth Schneider's vegetable bible "Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini" for some truth and learned that the only information available is theory. It seems that there are as many "origins" as there are experts to quote them. Here are some of the main ones:

Named after Portobello Road in London which has many high end antique shops and other fashionable establishments.
Named after a T.V. show called Portobello
The portobello in Northern Italy is called "cappellone" which means "big hat".

The most important thing to know is that it is a big brown mushroom. Its little brother (crimini) is a little brown mushroom.